Gregg Easterbrook

Is civilization teetering on the edge of a cliff? Or are we just climbing higher than ever? Most people who read the news would tell you that 2017 is one of the worst years in recent memory. We're facing a series of deeply troubling, even existential problems: fascism, terrorism, environmental collapse, racial and economic inequality, and more. Yet this narrative misses something important: by almost every meaningful measure, the modern world is better than it ever has been. In the United States, disease, crime, discrimination, and most forms of pollution are in long-term decline, while longevity and education keep rising and economic indicators are better than in any past generation. Worldwide, malnutrition and extreme poverty are at historic lows, and the risk of dying by war or violence is the lowest in human history. It's not a coincidence that we're confused--our perspectives on the world are blurred by the rise of social media, the machinations of politicians, and our own biases. Meanwhile, political reforms like the Clean Air Act and technological innovations like the hybridization of wheat have saved huge numbers of lives. In that optimistic spirit, Easterbrook offers specific policy reforms to address climate change, inequality, and other problems, and reminds us that there is real hope in conquering such challenges. In an age of discord and fear-mongering, It's Better Than It Looks will profoundly change your perspective on who we are, where we're headed, and what we're capable of.

Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear

It's Better Than It Looks

In an illuminating study of the state of the world, the author of The Here and Now explores the question of societal progress to explain why, despite strong evidence that the quality of life has improved dramatically, many people refuse to believe it, discussing the new science of positive psychology, the fad for victimhood, fears engendered by 9/11, and other important topics. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse

The Progress Paradox

Most of human history has seen what Teddy Roosevelt called "incessant warfare on the open oceans." This all changed after World War II, when the US Navy grew into a behemoth. America has by far the most powerful naval fleet in the world--it currently owns ten full-deck nuclear supercarriers equipped with long-range jets; the rest of the world, combined, has zero. The imperial dominance of the US Navy has brought half a century of peace and free trade to the world's waterways. But climate change and rising nationalism threaten to change that. Its dominance in this arena is so clear and overwhelming that other nations are not even trying to keep up. This, in turn, has enabled America to stand sentinel over crucial waterways like the Strait of Malacca, ensuring safe passage of goods with little interruption. But we are entering a new era. What will happen if we lack the political will to keep spending resources on improving trade between other nations? Will China's rising economic influence and regional aggression cause us to pull ships out of the South China Sea, or result in a conflict between our navies, however mismatched? And what will happen if new shipping lanes are opened near the Arctic Circle, or other places changed by global warming? Surveying both decades of naval history and a world of contemporary politics, this skillful blend of research and reportage makes a unique and urgent argument about the future of global trade.

How the US Navy Created Global Prosperity--And Why We're in Danger of Losing It

The Blue Age

Using his year-long insider access to the Virginia Tech football program and extensive interviews with current and former college and pro-football players and coaches, the author of the ESPN.com blog "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" tackles football's place in American society. 75,000 first printing.

Football's Impact on America

The King of Sports

Heralding the next wave of environmental concerns, Easterbrook has written a powerful book charting a surprising and fundamental shift toward the positive in environmental events. He shows us how to view abuses from nature's own resilient perspective, and how we must work with nature in our present moment on the Earth to create a nobler future for humankind.

The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism

A Moment on the Earth

Based on the popular football commentary on the e-zine "Slate", this is a collection of haikus, Zen poetry, historical allusions, and other conceits Easterbrook uses to creates fresh commentary on the philosophy of the game. 50 illustrations.

Haiku and Other Whimsical Observations to Help You Understand the Modern Game

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

Is there anything more universally American than NFL football? Love of the NFL runs deep and broad. It is a primetime TV event on multiple national networks, subsidized by public funds and popular from Mount Rainier to Miami Beach. The 2015 Super Bowl, a thriller between the Patriots and Seahawks, was the most-watched program in the history of television, with more than a third of the country watching. Yet football is in trouble. Public anxiety over football spiked in 2014 during the heat of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal, the ongoing concussion crisis and the league’s appropriations of tax money for its own ends. The mounting problems have led some to question the ethics of watching America’s beloved game. In this sharply argued, witty, observant book, Gregg Easterbrook makes a spirited case in defense of the NFL. As he shows, the league brings together Americans of all stripes, providing a rare space to talk about what matters. Indeed, the various issues we see in the league are often microcosms of the ones we see elsewhere, whether it’s suspicion of the rich, or gender politics or even concern over bullying. The NFL’s social, economic and legal problems are real, but they also produce some of our best and most valuable discussions of those issues. Football is a magnificent incarnation of our national character. It has many flaws, and they need fixing--but the game’s not over.

In Defense of Football

The Game's Not Over

"Fascinating, elegant . . . [Easterbrook] invests the timeless question of life's meaning with distinctly contemporary pertinence."--George Will, Newsweek Yes, says Gregg Easterbrook in this provocative and probing new book. In the tradition of Jack Miles's God A Biography and the work of Karen Armstrong, Beside Still Waters ponders the question "Is there anything left to believe in?" Gregg Easterbrook persuasively argues that rationality and outright doubt are inevitable and indeed vital elements of spiritual faith. Other new and important ideas about spiritual thought include the challenging observation that the Bible never actually proclaims God omnipotent -- a concept, Easterbrook suggests, that arose through the sociology and politics of religion, nor Scripture. Bucking the current trend to undermine the Bible's historical value, he affirms that it is neither simple myth nor mere literature, but rather it records many genuine events that can be seen to chart a spiritual journey not only of man but also of God. A thought-provoking book for anyone who believes that true faith can and should accommodate sincere doubt, Beside Still Waters addresses some of the central spiritual issues of a profoundly skeptical age.

Gregg Easterbrook

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